Look! Portraits of Female Farmers in The New York Times

Reading the New York Times Magazine yesterday, we were struck by the quiet beauty of these photographs by Gareth McConnell. They are all portraits of female farmers in the Northeast, stunning women devoted to the hard work of planting, harvesting, milking, foraging... See more below.

Many of these women left other careers to start growing food or raising animals, and they certainly defy the stereotype of a man in overalls riding a tractor — although these women are probably quite at home on tractors. But they are leading the way in organic farming practices, providing butter to Thomas Keller, and supplying restaurants with delicacies that weren't planted but found in the wild.

We were humbled by their singular dedication to something that is undoubtedly difficult and yet so soulfully nourishing to the people they feed. And get this: Nearly 20,000 farms in the Northeast are run by women. Wow.